Ben Askren does not sound too worried about Jake Paul.
“Jake thinks he’s a high-level boxer. I think he’s fairly delusional,” Askren said, via USA Today, just days before the former MMA fighter will take on the 24-year-old Paul in a Triller pay-per-view fight in Atlanta on Saturday.
Saturday’s event will mark Paul’s fourth boxing match and his third as a pro. While Paul remains undefeated, his prior two opponents were YouTube celebrities, followed by NBA alum Nate Robinson — in which Paul scored a trio of knockdowns before a brutal second-round knockout on Nov. 28. None of Paul’s opponents thus far were trained boxers.
Askren, 36, has a more decorated fighting résumé than Paul, despite making his pro boxing debut on Saturday.
Askren — whose recent hip surgery played a part in the closing chapter of his MMA career — is a two-time Hodge Trophy winner (the Heisman Trophy of college wrestling), NCAA wrestling champion and an Olympic wrestler.
When it came to his decision to fight Paul, Askren seized the moment.
“I did say when I retired, I will never be a full-time fighter but if something interesting comes up, I’d be willing to accept that,” Askren told MMAFighting.com. “This falls into that category I think. I’m not going to be a full-time boxer but I got an interesting opportunity and I’m going to take advantage of it.
“If I want to beat up an amateur boxer, it ain’t gonna take me more than three months of training to do so.”
Among those who’ve been critical of Paul’s boxing talents is Dana White. The UFC president previously said he would bet $1 million that Paul will lose to Askren at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Despite those who’ve written off Paul as an amateur boxer and questioned his status in the sport, the internet personality is looking forward to proving his critics wrong.
“At the end of the day this isn’t celebrity boxing, I am a celebrity who is boxing. I’m a real fighter, I’ve shown that,” he said during a Triller Fight Club press conference.
Paul, who began boxing about three years ago, said he believes his behind-the-scenes training has more than prepared him to fight Askren.
“I’ve had three fights, which isn’t a lot on paper. But what people don’t see is the 400 sparring sessions that I’ve had in the past 3½ years. So it’s really something that has been developed in sparring because even in my past two fights I didn’t get hit once in the head,” Paul told USA Today.
As Paul prepares for the anticipated matchup, he’s dealing with more serious scrutiny.
TikTok personality Justine Paradise accused Paul of sexual assault on Friday.
In a 20-minute YouTube video, Paradise, 24, detailed the alleged sexual assault, which she claimed happened during a July 2019 social gathering at Paul’s Team 10 residence in Calabasas, California.
On Tuesday, Paul released a written statement that dismissed Paradise’s allegation as a ploy for attention during a time when he’s heavily in the news.
“Not only have I never had any sexual relationship with this individual, but this claim is solely a manufactured accusation and a blatant attempt for attention during a highly visible fight week,” the statement read.
